A steam locomotive, Pacific, seen at Siliguri Junction in 1962. Picture courtesy Terry Martin

Siliguri, Oct. 17: The promise of development that comes with the conversion of the Aluabari-Siliguri metre gauge line to broad gauge will be undercut by a tinge of sadness.

For it means that Siliguri Junction will lose its unique status as the only station in India, if not the whole of Asia, to have tracks of all three gauges.

Terry Martin, a UK-based steam fanatic who has also written two books on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR), said he could only think of two other stations with similar distinction.

“One is Jenbach in Austria where the standard gauge meets a metre gauge track and a 760mm narrow gauge line. The other is Latour de Carol in the Pyrenees (between France and Spain) where the metre gauge meets the French standard gauge and the Spanish broad gauge,” said Martin.

“I would not be surprised to learn that Siliguri Junction is the last station in Asia with this distinction, and possibly the last in the world where steam engines still ply on all three gauges, albeit only on special occasions,” he added.

The railways, however, said the decision to convert the Aluabari-Siliguri stretch is part of the policy to have a uni-gauge system throughout the country. “This is to ensure greater flexibility and a more effective rail network,” said T. Rabha, the chief public relations officer of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

The rail line in question was first commissioned in 1915 as an extension of the DHR from Siliguri to Kishenganj and in 1949-50 it was converted to metre gauge.

“It is the last remaining section of the Assam Rail Link constructed after Independence,” said Martin. The rail link between Assam and the rest of India was severed during Partition and had to be rebuilt, he added.

Tour operators are also unhappy about the development. “The station is of immense heritage value to Siliguri. The railways could do the tourism sector a lot of good if it retained at least some portion of the metre-gauge line,” said Raj Basu, a tour operator here.

Rajesh Agarwal, the executive director (heritage) of the Indian Railways, told The Telegraph from Delhi: “If a proposal came from the local people or the NFR, we will definitely ask the railway board to do something about the heritage factor of Siliguri.”